The first reliable solid state amp

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sawdust123

sawdust123

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The Crown DC-300. Rated conservatively at 190-210 watts per channel into 8 ohms (depending on measurement method), 7" tall (4RU), 45 pounds. First released in 1967. It was not the first solid state amp but probably the first that didn't spectacularly catch fire if abused. We were still using a boatload of these for our on-campus concerts in in college (early '80s). Here is a link to the original datasheet https://www.crownaudio.com/en/site_elements/dc-300-data-sheet


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I was already thinking of doing a thread on the CS-800. It was a tank and had some interesting features like the optional crossover and input transformer. It was such a successful amp that they still produce a CS series today.
 
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djrox said:
My first amp for perfomances was a Peavey CS-800/Hernia maker:
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First one I remember using was a CS series I think 800 but I'm not sure

First one I owned was much lighter and much less powerful Nikko Alpha 230 running at 4 Ohms

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Two ends of the weight spectrum that I had occasion to use (late 80s / early 90s) were the Crown Macrotech 3600VZ (a heavy beast that needed it's own 30 amp circuit), and the Carver PM 1.5 (one of the first light & powerful amp I can remember).
 
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CS-800s are a beast of an amp. Those things will last forever and a day, although they are very heavy. The Grand Ole Opry used to have a rack full of them at the edge of the stage, doing monitor duties. One night, the curtain hooked onto the amp rack (several CS800s in it) and lifted it up until the rack came loose and fell onto the guy mixing monitors. I don't think he was hurt seriously but it could've been so much worse.
 
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sawdust123 said:
The Crown DC-300. Rated conservatively at 190-210 watts per channel into 8 ohms (depending on measurement method), 7" tall (4RU), 45 pounds. First released in 1967. It was not the first solid state amp but probably the first that didn't spectacularly catch fire if abused. We were still using these a boatload of these for our on-campus concerts in in college (early '80s). Here is a link to the original datasheet https://www.crownaudio.com/en/site_elements/dc-300-data-sheet

This was the monster i used the most! BGW 750!

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BGW-Model-300-Professional-Power-Amplifier.jpgBGW-Model-300-Professional-Power-Amplifier.jpg
 
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I have a BGW 750 sitting in my closet. My friend was one of the designers of it. He lent it to me to do experiment with some unique forms of high-power testing on it.
 
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My first really big amp was a Hafler 500, a 48 pound Mosfet amplifier. I wired the cooling fan so it was on "High" all the time, and soldered the Mosfets into their TO-3 sockets so the pin connections wouldn't burn up from the heat. Another beast.
 
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